Koh Chang has a very hippy style vibe and this is very apparent in the south where I am staying. Around my accommodation there are a few little café/bars with an old school reggae influence where Bob Marley flags hang from wooden rafters which are painted green, yellow and red.
There is also a little hippy commune in the woods called Karma which runs a vegetarian/vegan café and they had planned an open house party one night.
The drinks were flowing and it appeared Malboro was not the 'tobacco' of choice around here!! While that's not personally my scene I'm pretty sure the chances of getting 'high by proxy' was almost certain with the general level of aromatic aroma in the air.
The live music was really good and I sat back hypnotically moving to the beat. At the beginning a very drunk Thai man stumbled up to the stage and did his best to belt out some inaudible ballad (to be fair it did take him about 15mins to actually locate the microphone straight in front of him so I was not really expecting much!). We all heartily clapped him though as we recognised the effort it had taken him to even get off the sofa and walk.
Food was being cooked too and although they are predominately vegatarian they did provide barbeque chicken skewers which they handed to us to sample. I was a little wary of eating the chicken as I had spied one of their cats sitting a little too close to the preparation table earlier. However I pulled off a piece of what looked like a tasty chargrilled red pepper and proceeded to chomp down on it. Within a few seconds it was painfully apparent that it was not a red pepper but a red chilly complete with all seeds! While the inside of my mouth was on fire I smiled back and choked out the word "aroy" (delicious). I also had a barbequed corn on the cob which was slowly cooked while being basted in butter (this was aroy). As I was enjoying picking off individual pieces of corn another 'merry' Thai gentleman proceeded to grab the cob off me to give me a lesson in how to eat it. He gnawed around the entire bottom strip then proudly handed it back to me. My initial instinct was to get out a pack of antibacterial wipes and disinfect it but I felt this may seen a little rude? After this I didn't really fancy any more corn.
Throughout the evening I watched people laugh and dance and generally enjoy the ambiance. I thought the event may only attract 'hippy types' but there was such a range of different people there. I contemplated what it would be like to live full time in such a place and while I could definitely appreciate the benefits of such a simple life I feel the initial magic may lesson the more you are exposed to it.
I'm glad it was all fresh and new to me because the magic of the experience will stay in my memory for a long time.
There is also a little hippy commune in the woods called Karma which runs a vegetarian/vegan café and they had planned an open house party one night.
So around 7pm myself, Maggi and Grainne walked up the road from our accommodation and turned down into the woods. Little fires had been lit along the pathway to the commune and they emitted a lovely orange glow in the dark. The main building consisted of an open plan room with a bar at the end and outside was a wooden veranda filled with comfy cushions and little tables. This looked down onto a clearing with more seating and a stage for live music. Tiny little lights hung from trees and dream catches swayed in the evening breeze. More small fires had been lit around the clearing and you could hear a gentle crackle of wood while swirls of smoke crossed the air. It was perfectly atmospheric.
Everyone was very welcoming and we soon settled in a comfy little spot. We began talking to a guy who was due to play acoustic guitar later in the evening. He asked us where we were from to which we replied UK. When I did the same in return he answered in a laid back 'stoned' drawl "well really I'm from everywhere and nowhere" (while I appreciate his existentialism viewpoint I am pretty sure he was originally from SOMEWHERE?!).
The drinks were flowing and it appeared Malboro was not the 'tobacco' of choice around here!! While that's not personally my scene I'm pretty sure the chances of getting 'high by proxy' was almost certain with the general level of aromatic aroma in the air.
The live music was really good and I sat back hypnotically moving to the beat. At the beginning a very drunk Thai man stumbled up to the stage and did his best to belt out some inaudible ballad (to be fair it did take him about 15mins to actually locate the microphone straight in front of him so I was not really expecting much!). We all heartily clapped him though as we recognised the effort it had taken him to even get off the sofa and walk.
Food was being cooked too and although they are predominately vegatarian they did provide barbeque chicken skewers which they handed to us to sample. I was a little wary of eating the chicken as I had spied one of their cats sitting a little too close to the preparation table earlier. However I pulled off a piece of what looked like a tasty chargrilled red pepper and proceeded to chomp down on it. Within a few seconds it was painfully apparent that it was not a red pepper but a red chilly complete with all seeds! While the inside of my mouth was on fire I smiled back and choked out the word "aroy" (delicious). I also had a barbequed corn on the cob which was slowly cooked while being basted in butter (this was aroy). As I was enjoying picking off individual pieces of corn another 'merry' Thai gentleman proceeded to grab the cob off me to give me a lesson in how to eat it. He gnawed around the entire bottom strip then proudly handed it back to me. My initial instinct was to get out a pack of antibacterial wipes and disinfect it but I felt this may seen a little rude? After this I didn't really fancy any more corn.
Throughout the evening I watched people laugh and dance and generally enjoy the ambiance. I thought the event may only attract 'hippy types' but there was such a range of different people there. I contemplated what it would be like to live full time in such a place and while I could definitely appreciate the benefits of such a simple life I feel the initial magic may lesson the more you are exposed to it.
I'm glad it was all fresh and new to me because the magic of the experience will stay in my memory for a long time.
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